A British man fighting in Syria killed himself before being captured by the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, as he fought alongside Kurdish forces.

Ryan Lock, 20, was involved with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and their campaign to oust ISIS from its de facto headquarters of Raqqa in northern Syria when his unit came under ISIS fire Dec. 21 near the village of Ja'bar. Lock and four others were reportedly surrounded near the historic castle located by lake Assad and "showed considerable resistance" before being overtaken, BBC News reported Tuesday. The outlet quoted Kurdish forces as saying that a "trace of a gunshot wound was found under the chin," indicating he had shot himself rather than inevitably being captured.

Lock worked as a chef and had no prior military experience before traveling in August to the Kurdish region of Rojava in Syria, according to The Guardian.

Read more: International Business Times